Shirley Kaufman (1923–2016) published nine poetry collections, including Roots in the Air, Threshold, and Ezekiel’s Wheels. For her achievements in unveiling the voice of a woman on such topics as childbirth, family relationships, envy, love, aging, and the meaning of Jewish fate, she received many honors, including the Pushcart Prize, the Shelley Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Israel President’s Prize for Literature in 2007.

Two Poems

by Shirley Kaufman

Art

Turner had himself tied

to the mast of a ship
to experience a storm at sea


Every sailor was ordered
below deck

                      only the painter

and the waves.


                           Only

the risk of surrender
the first time we love.


How tight we hang on
to keep from drowning.


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